For the second straight week, the Northside Grizzlies' opponent has just one win to its total.

However, perhaps unlike last week, Conway has the Grizzlies' full attention.

The reasons are twofold. Last week, the Grizzlies struggled with a one-win Little Rock Catholic squad and needed a long touchdown pass and a goal-line stand in the final minutes to survive. Plus, while Conway may come in 1-5, the Wampus Cats did get that one win last week, and a big one at that, steamrolling a previously unbeaten and highly ranked Cabot squad.

So if Catholic didn't serve as a wake-up call already to the Grizzlies, the Conway win against Cabot may be another attention-getter.

"It should, and if it doesn't, there's something wrong with us," Northside coach Mike Falleur said. "(Our players) ought to know right now, they just beat a team that was 5-0 and ranked number two or three in the state. ... If they were thinking this was going to be (easy), I hope to gosh they understand that, and we have preached that since (last week), just minutes after that football game (against Catholic)."

Plus, Falleur pointed out Conway is much better than its record indicates.

"When you look at their early schedule, they lose to Springdale by (seven), they lose to Jonesboro who's undefeated by three, they lose to Bentonville who's one of the better teams in the west, they lose to Southside 23-20," Falleur said. "North Little Rock beats them pretty good, but it's not like (the way) they've beaten a lot of people, they had to work to get it. Then they turn around (last week) and they just wear Cabot out.

"Any time you're in a one-score game, any one play can change that to your favor. ... In any one of those four games (close losses Conway) lost, they make a play here or a play there, they're not 1-5, so they are a very good, very talented, very physical football team and we better load up the buses and be ready to play."

In last week's win at Cabot, Conway sophomore quarterback Jovoni Johnson, the third quarterback the Wampus Cats have utilized this season, passed for 111 yards and two touchdowns as Conway rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit. Conway also amassed 212 rushing yards, with Michael George picking up 79 of those yards and a TD.

"Their running backs are hard-nosed, very, very talented kids, their offensive line is big and does a good job," Falleur said. "They also have a great tight end and (Marquise Pleasant) at receiver is very, very talented, so they have the ability to run the football on you and they also have the ability to throw it down the field to two really good receivers in (Pleasant and Jack Pillow, both seniors)."

On the defensive side of the ball, Falleur pointed out 6-foot-6, 228-pound senior nose guard Gentrell Taylor, who leads the team in sacks (six) and tackles for loss (six).

"Defensively, they have a nose guard who's better than anyone I've seen all year," Falleur said of Taylor. "Their other two (down linemen) are pretty good players, and they got two real solid inside linebackers.

"The secondary is hard to tell but maybe if they have a little bit of a down spot it's there but it's not down, it's just the front seven to me sticks out of how good they are, and then they're solid in the kicking game."

Again, Falleur reiterated the Wampus Cats can easily have a much better record, but is aware last week's win at Cabot may have given Conway a needed confidence boost.

"It's just they're a good football team that's just had bad luck," he said. "And I've had teams like that, just like (last week), could we have made those plays if we were 1-4? At the end of the game, I don't know, maybe not, but we were 3-1 and maybe we got a little bit of confidence that we believe, and so we make a play like that.

"Last year with us, we weren't winning and we couldn't win those close games, so we ended up having a bad year, so it's just one of those deals and I hope Conway hasn't totally righted the ship this past Friday which if they have, they'll be hard to beat. But they're going to be hard to beat either way it goes."
